Pages

Friday, November 30, 2012

Tofu is one ingredient that I always buy whenever I go to the market. It is healthy, tasty and very versatile in cooking. Just yesterday, I prepared steamed salmon belly and silken tofu with miso ginger sauce. The salmon belly and tofu were so tasty that they just glide and melt away in my mouth (oops ... I did not take any pics though). And a few days back, I had pan-fried tofu with shredded coconut sambal sauce. I love tofu and will never get tired of eating it.

About this dish .... I bought two medium pieces of firm tofu (豆干) earlier in the day and was thinking of what to do with it when near dinner time. Then, I remembered reading Wendy's Wok Messed Tofu, just a week earlier. So, I started looking around my kitchen ... good, I still have one salted egg left. And from my fridge, I have this fresh bunch of garlic chives that I bought for making stir fry bee hoon and dumplings. I took out a red chili as well. Good, I have all I need to prepare this tofu dish. Very few basic ingredients, impromptu idea... and this is really how I like to cook ....随心所欲.

Both salted egg yolk and garlic chives are strong flavour ingredients. Hence, you do not need much seasoning, except to add a little soy sauce to taste. Salted egg yolk also gives a shiny golden coat to this simple, yet tasty tofu dish.

2) Pan-fry the tofu in a lightly-oiled pan till both sides are golden brown.

3) Mash up the steamed salted egg yolk. Heat up a wok over medium heat and add a little oil. When the wok is hot, add in the chopped garlic, followed with the mashed salted egg yolk. Stir to melt the salted egg yolk till it becomes very foamy. Add in the pan fried tofu and add in a little water (the water helps to combine the ingredients and flavour together). Add the garlic chives and season with soy sauce. Cover and let it cook for a while till the gravy dries up and absorb into the tofu pieces.

Monday, November 26, 2012

It was our usual weekend family gathering and a few days before my niece's birthday. My little girl asked me to bake a birthday cake for her cousin, after her failed attempt to DIY a doll, as a birthday present for her cousin ^_^

hmmm.... Tiramisu cake, strawberry shortcake, chocolate cake came to my mind, but I did not have all the necessary ingredients and I am very lazy to go out, especially on a Sunday morning. It can get very crowded and queues are real long at the supermarket. But, I do have some frozen summer berries in my freezer. Maybe a berries cheesecake? Too bad... I only have 180g of cream cheese and a small packet of 200ml dairy whipping cream at home. No.... I'm not going out, just have to work something out of whatever I have at home. Ideas .... ideas .... check internet, check blogs and Wendy's beautiful Blueberry Yogurt Mousse Cake caught my eyes. Lovely, but too bad again, cos I have no yogurt at home! Eventually, I settled with the idea of alternate layers of berries mousse and green tea cheesecake, since red and green are such beautiful contrasting colours. To complete the look, I made some white chocolate garnish from melted chocolate and top with strawberry halves.

The cake was well received by my family. They love the light and refreshing taste of the cake. The sourness from the summer berries mousse/jelly complement nicely with the sweetness from the white chocolate, layers of sponge, cheesecake and biscuit base. But, the mild flavour from the green tea cheesecake was sort of overshadowed by the berries. Perhaps I could have added more green tea powder to the cheesecake.

I did not take note of the exact amount of sugar used to prepare the berries sauce for the mousse, as well as the sugar for the cheesecake layer. In any case, the sweetness can be adjusted based on your preference. As a general note, the berries coulis or sauce, should taste a little more sour than you like, so that when folded with the whipped cream, the taste will be just nice. On the other hand, the filling for the green tea cheesecake could be a little sweet, so that it balances with the sourness from the berries.

Place the berries and water in a small saucepan and cook over low heat. As the berries start to break down, add sugar. Cook for about 10 minutes, stirring frequently during cooking, till the sauce thickens. Sieve the content to obtain thick berries sauce for preparing the mousse.

Berries Jelly

After sieving the thick berries sauce, put the berries scraps back into the pot and add about 220ml water. Bring to boil, add sugar to taste and simmer for about 5 minutes. Soften 2 and 1/2 gelatin sheets in iced water for about 5 minutes, squeeze out excess water and add to the berries syrup (or use about 1.5 tsp gelatin crystals, dissolved with 2 tbsp water#). Stir well and cook for another minute. Sieve to obtain thin berries syrup. Cool briefly and pour into a 6" round cake pan, lined with plastic wrap (reserved a little of this jelly solution for garnishing the cake). Cool the content before chilling in fridge to set.

Place the cream and sugar in a cold bowl (place the bowl in freezer for 5 minutes). Whisk the cream till soft peak and add in the dissolved gelatin. Continue to whisk till firm. Be careful not to over-whisk, or the cream will curdle. Place the whipped cream in the fridge while you prepare other steps.

Soften the gelatin sheets in iced water for about 5 minutes, squeeze out excess water and add to the warm milk. Stir to melt the gelatin into the milk. If necessary, microwave the milk for another 20 seconds. Leave the milk mixture to cool. Meanwhile, place cream cheese, lemon juice and sugar in a bowl and cream till smooth. Add in the green tea powder and cream well to combine. Add in the milk and stir till smooth. Fold into the dairy whipped cream.

3) Pour half the green tea cheese mixture over the sponge cake. Place in freezer for 5 minutes to set it slightly.

4) Remove the berries jelly from the plastic wrap and place over the green tea cheese layer. Pour the remaining green tea cheese mixture over the jelly.

5) Place the other slice of sponge cake over the green tea cheese layer and pour the remaining berries mousse over the cake. Smooth the top and chill in freezer for at least 3 hours to set, before transferring the cake to the fridge to keep chill.

6) Remove the cake from the cake ring. Decorate the sides with white chocolate garnish.

7) Warm up the reserved jelly solution in a microwave oven and pour into a piping bag. Pipe designs on the cake and decorate with fresh strawberries. Keep chill in fridge till ready to serve.

Thursday, November 22, 2012

The first time where I tried chicken stew with peanut butter was back in the Year 2000. Hubby and I went for a free and easy holiday to Perth. During our stay, we booked a local four-wheel drive cum camping trip to explore Western Australia. Our driver cum tour guide was also our chef. Breakfasts and lunches were usually cereals, sandwiches and fruits. At night, we had either BBQ dinner or simple stews with rice. One of the stews I remembered was peanut butter with chicken and some vegetables. Our chef started with cutting up the vegetables and chicken. With some hot oil (or butter) in the pot, he sauteed the onions, chicken, tomatoes etc ... poured in canned tomatoes and water. When the content started bubbling, he took out a bottle of peanut butter and scooped a few big spoonfuls of peanut butter into the stew. I was thinking then, what was he doing??? peanut butter in a savory dish???

If you have never tried peanut butter in chicken stew, let me tell you: IT IS DELICIOUS! Peanut butter adds richness and flavour to this dish. Depending on your preference, you can always adjust the amount of peanut butter to add to the stew.

Prepare a big pot of this stew, keep a portion in the freezer, just reheat and serve on another day. Keep some extra sauce in a separate container and use the sauce for your next pasta meal. One dish into 3 meals! Easy and economical. I managed to squeeze in a 4th dish - spicy chicken buns, by using a small portion of the reserved sauce, cook with some shredded chicken, sliced onion, mushrooms and curry powder, as filling for my breakfast buns.

Recipe

8 chicken drums (or other chicken parts)

1 big onion, cut into big chunks

1 carrot, cut into big chunks

Some fresh button mushrooms, halved

A few black pitted olives, sliced

1 cup of canned chopped tomato & sauce

2 heaped tbsp peanut butter

1 tsp ground coriander

1 tsp ground paprika

1 tsp mixed dried herbs

1 to 2 tsp dried chilli flakes

1 bay leaf

Few cloves of garlic, minced

Salt and pepper to taste

1) Start with marinating the chicken pieces with some salt and pepper (I added a teaspoon of mixed spice in the marinate). Leave it aside while you gather and prepare the rest of the ingredients.

2) Heat up some oil in a pan over moderate high heat (or a wok which I find easier to work with). Stir fry the chopped onions and minced garlic till fragrant. Add in the carrot and button mushrooms. Add the chicken pieces to the pan and stir to combine with the other ingredients till fragrant. Pour in the chopped tomatoes and its sauce. Add in the black olives and the rest of the ingredients (except peanut butter). Add sufficient water to cover all the ingredients. Transfer to a pot. Cover, bring to boil before adjusting to low heat to simmer for about 20 minutes.

3) Stir in the peanut butter and simmer for another 20 to 30 minutes, stirring frequently to make sure the peanut butter does not stick to the base of the pot. Add salt and pepper to taste.

4) Cover and keep it aside for another 15 minutes before serving. Garnish with a pinch of parsley flakes and served with rice or bread.

Wednesday, November 21, 2012

Time flies. Last year around this time, I was busy preparing (myself and) my little one for her primary school. School orientation, buy new books, uniform, stationeries etc. One new activity also popped up in my mind - I need to prepare lunch for my little one. Previously, lunch is provided for in her preschool.

Like a first-time excited mum to her newborn baby, I went online and bought books to check out the beautiful kids lunch boxes and bentos. OH... I can cook this, this and this!!! Ha...well, as usual, I'm simply too lazy to try out any of the cute-looking lunches. I love to cook, but I simply cannot "tahan" spending hours to beautify the lunch box. Moreover, after spending so long on "touching up" the food, won't they turn cold? Sorry dear, no cute bears or smiley face sandwiches for you, instead, here are some of the lunches that mum had prepared for you (and myself).

Tuesday, November 20, 2012

These custard buns are hot from the oven! Baked them last evening for today's breakfast. My initial idea is just to make some plain custard buns. But since I have some fresh blueberries in the fridge, why not use it to decorate the buns?

Bring (e) to gentle boil and remove from heat. Combine (d) together, sieve and pour into (e). Return mixture to heat. Stir till mixture thickens. Cool the custard and place in fridge (with plastic wrap covering the surface). Fold in the whipped cream.

Method:

1) Place (a) in a mixer and pour in (b). Knead the dough till smooth. Add in (c) and knead the dough till you get a smooth and elastic dough. Cover and rest the dough for about 40 minutes or doubled in size.

3) Using the small tartlet mould, make an indentation in the middle of each bun. Place a small piece of baking paper over the hole and weigh it down with the tartlet mould (if need be, add some baking beans or rice into the mould). Cover and rest the buns for another 30 minutes or till doubled in size.

4) Remove the tartlet moulds and baking papers. Fill the hole with custard cream. Bake in preheated oven at 190C for about 12 minutes. Remove from oven. Place a few blueberries on each custard bun.

Thursday, November 15, 2012

I'm into cup desserts lately. First, I made some green tea milk pudding, using Japanese green tea powder and some hot milk, garnished with dairy whipped cream and strawberry halves. Simple and elegant.

With some leftover chocolate cake, I prepared this chocolate banana trifle. Main ingredients are chocolate cake, cut into small cubes, sliced bananas (squeezed some lemon juice over the bananas to prevent browning), chocolate sauce, dairy whipped cream, crushed Oreo cookies and toasted almond flakes. Garnish with strawberry halves and Glico chocolate sticks. To prepare, just place the ingredients layer by layer and chill in fridge for an hour before serving.

I'm not sure if this is the season for Australia rock melons, but they are really sweet and juicy. The melon pudding is made with real melon juice by blending melon with some milk, before adding a little syrup to taste. Top with melon balls and clear jelly.

Sunday, November 11, 2012

Vroom ..... Vroom .... this Lightning McQueen cake is for a little boy, Shalev, to celebrate his 3rd birthday. Shalev is a beautiful name and it means peaceful.

About this cake ... it is a 2-tier chocolate butter cake, covered with fondant. The base is one 11" round cake, sliced horizontally into two and sandwiched with vanilla butter cream. The car body is carved and assembled from one 8" round cake. This is the first time I'm making a car cake and there are still many areas to improve on - rolling/covering of fondant, the small details etc. Now looking at the picture, I should have made bigger wheels for the car... aiyo... how to win the race with these small wheels??

Happy Birthday, Shalev!

Hope you have a wonderful time celebrating your birthday with your family and many of your little friends.

Tuesday, November 6, 2012

This is an simple salmon dish that we can prepare at home with ease. Few ingredients: Salmon fillet (or other fish fillet), carrot, bell pepper, zucchini and fresh lemon. I chose these vegetables for their bright cheerful colours.

To prepare:

1) Cut the vegetables into cubes. For chopped carrot, I prefer to gentle boil in stock for a few minutes before stir frying it.

2) Heat up a small pot or pan. Add a little oil. Stir fry the zucchini and carrot, add a little garlic (or chopped onion). Add in a little stock. Once the zucchini turns soft, add in the bell peppers. Season with salt and pepper and a pinch of dried dill. Cover and keep warm.

3) Score the skin of the salmon and season with salt and pepper.

4) Heat up a pan, add a little oil. When the pan is sizzling hot, place the salmon fillet in pan, skin-side down. Gently fry the fish over medium heat for a few minutes till the skin is crispy and brown. Carefully flip the fish over and squeeze some lemon juice over it. Cook for another 1 to 2 minutes. Turn off heat and leave the salmon fillet in pan.

5) Lay the sauteed vegetables on plate and sit the salmon fillet on top. Garnish with a little lemon zest and a sprinkle of dried dill.

Monday, November 5, 2012

Being the ever thrifty homemaker, I always find buttermilk being overpriced. Probably due to the low demand here, a carton of buttermilk can buy twice the amount of fresh milk. But, as I have read so much about baking and cooking with buttermilk, I'm really curious to experiment a little with buttermilk. With the packet of buttermilk, I used it to make buttermilk pancakes, pan-grilled buttermilk chicken and finally, this chocolate buttermilk cake with cream cheese frosting. Not bad huh, really stretch my dollar by using the buttermilk to make breakfast, dinner and a tea-treat!

This chocolate cake recipe is adapted from my earlier Wild Berries Citron Crumble Slice, mainly by replacing a small portion of plain flour with cocoa powder; and sour cream/milk with buttermilk. The frosting is cream cheese with melted white chocolate and topped with toasted chopped walnuts, dried cranberries and apricot. I like to add white chocolate to cream cheese frosting as it tastes good and keeps the frosting from melting away

Recipe

(makes 8" square pan)

100g butter

50g fine sugar

30g brown sugar (or use all fine sugar)

1/8 tsp salt

2 eggs (55g each)

1 tsp rum extract

100g plain flour + 1 tsp baking powder (sift together)

40g cocoa powder + 3 tbsp hot water (stir together)

100ml buttermilk

Frosting:

100g cream cheese, room temperature

2 tbsp lemon juice

3 tbsp icing sugar

4 tbsp melted white chocolate

1 tbsp orange liquor

Toppings:

Toasted walnuts, chopped

Chopped dried cranberries and apricot

Some lemon zest

Method:

1) Cream butter, sugar and salt together till light and fluffy. Add in eggs, one at a time. Mix in rum extract.

So what's my verdict with using buttermilk in cooking and baking? It's good to have, but not necessary. My buttermilk pancake does not taste fluffier or tastier than one prepared with plain milk + vinegar. My buttermilk chicken tastes just as succulent nice as one prepared without using buttermilk. I think the cooking time, method and heat control is more important. I'm not an absolute chocolate cake lover, so while this chocolate cake is nice and soft, I guess the right combination of cream/milk will yield the same soft texture too ^_^

Friday, November 2, 2012

I wanted to make some cranberry cream cheese buns again, as hubby and girl love them when I last made it. Hee..... I was simply too lazy to divide and round the dough into individual portions; not forgetting that the wrapping takes a fair bit of time too. Why not just make it as a loaf and slice after baking? And since I have not done plaited loaf for a long time, it will be fun making it ^_^

Looks complicated, but this is really easy

As you can see from the above picture, this plaited loaf is very easy to make. A few steps: Roll the bread dough into a long oval shape. Make small cuts at both sides. Place filling at the centre (leave top and bottom ends clean). Take turn to overlap left and right dough strips and pinch the ends to seal. You can have a variety of filling for your loaf: apple, raisins and cinnamon, blueberry cream cheese, curry chicken with potato etc.

1) Combine dough ingredients in a mixer, except for butter and cranberries. Knead till smooth. Add butter and cranberries and knead till you get a smooth and elastic dough. Cover and let the dough rest for about 40 minutes or till it doubled in size.

2) Meanwhile, prepare the filling by creaming the cream cheese and icing sugar till smooth. Beat in the lemon curd and cranberries. Chill the filling till ready for use.

3) Gently knead the dough and roll it to a long oval shape. Place filling and shape as shown above. Cover and let the dough rest again for another 40 minutes.

4) Apply egg wash on the surface and bake in preheated oven of 190C for about 12 minutes or till golden brown. Remove from oven and cool on rack.

* To prepare lemon curd

1) Combine the following in a stainless steel bowl and place over a pot of simmering water: 2 egg yolks, 120g fine sugar, juice & zest from 1 lemon.